Willow Charms
by Authoress ReWritten
Summary: My friend HannahHypolita's OC-centric story. Willow Carroll had been waiting for her Hogwarts letter ever since she was old enough to know what it was. Now that she's there, it's new friends or enemies, an unconscious girl on a hospital bed, and her older sister Alice, who doesn't seem to want anything to do with her...
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

**A/N: Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. The three main characters Willow, Alexandria and Campbell are OCs, as are all their families. Later on there's an OC who belongs to someone else. I didn't get permission, but when you meet her, you'll know why.**

In a large yellow house divided into flats in a certain specific section of Totterdown, Bristol called Uppertown Cross, there lived several different groups of people.

In the topmost flat, under the attic, there lived four agreeable young housemates. Their names were Annabel, Georgia, Michelle, and Lucie. They fought and argued and had fun together.

In the basement flat, under the floorboards, there lived a young artist named Reath. Reath was twenty-two years old and painted pictures of flowers and trees.

In the smaller of the main house flats, there lived no one. That flat was unsold, and it had been unsold for quite some time.

And in the larger main house flat, there lived the Carroll family and their daughter Willow.

Willow Carroll, who lived in Uppertown Cross, an all-Wizarding village, for a reason, had been waiting for her Hogwarts acceptance letter since she was old enough to understand exactly what a Hogwarts acceptance letter was, which was about when her older sister Alice got hers. She spent hours imagining life at Hogwarts-the friends she would make, the dorm she might be in-a windy, beautiful tower or a cozy warm basement or a cool and fascinating dungeon-and, more recently, the cream-coloured cat she had been visiting all summer and had in her head been calling Annie, curling up next to her in bed.

When she finally got it, her sister Alice got hers on the same day. As Alice detailed to their parents everything she would need, Willow and her slightly sticky six-year-old sister Laurel sat cross-legged in the parlour and read from the letter.

"Wead it 'woud, Wiw!" Laurel said, two fingers in her mouth. Willow was her favorite sister for reasons Willow didn't quite understand. Alice, a beautiful and blond green-eyed fourth-year, was usually people's favorites; the slightly plain brunette Willow tended to get...overlooked.

"Alright," Willow said obligingly. She opened the letter and began to read.

"Dear Ms. Carroll. We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1...ah, we await your owl by no later than July 31. Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall, deputy headmistress." Looking up, Willow found her mother already scrawling out a message on a piece of parchment.

"I'll write out the letters for you two," her mother said. "Oh, there's so much to remember..."

"Wiw, Wiw, are you weaving?" asked Laurie. "Are you weaving because you're stiw angrys at me for spilling Mum's poison on your toofbrush?"

Willow shivered, remembering how her mother had almost broken the International Stature of Secrecy by brewing a powerful rat poison (the flat had a bit of a vermin issue during the summer months), then Laurie had spilled it all over Willow's toothbrush. "No, Laurie, I'm not mad at that. The Healers at St. Mungo's fixed me right up, see?" She opened her mouth to show Laurie where her teeth had grown back in and her gums had healed up. Her mother had sent off the letter with Elm, the family owl (her father had always wanted to be a wandmaker, and had so named two of his daughters and his pet after wand woods), and was now writing with a ballpoint pen on lined paper to Willow's current school.

"It says you're going to be going to a private boarding school from here on out, Wills," her mother said when Willow looked at the paper curiously. "I've never had the patience for computers. The school understands, they were perfectly amiable about Alice. Your father and I – well, that's a story for another time, and now we need to go to Diagon Alley, and – oh, there's just so much to remember to do!" She shepherded her three children and husband out of the flat, down three stories and onto a bus. "The car is out of gas again. I never remember to fill that thing up."

"What House do you think I'll be in?" asked Willow.

"Gryffindor, of course!" said Alice. "Mother and Father and I are all in Gryffindor. Well, I am. They were."

Willow worried her lip. "Hufflepuff doesn't sound bad."

"Please! They're not that bright and everyone rags on them. Who wants to be a Hufflepuff?"

Willow dropped the subject of houses until they reached the Leaky Cauldron. Willow and Laurie had been to Diagon Alley several times before – usually their parents would buy them a book from Flourish and Blotts and leave them at Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlour, where they would eat sundaes and Willow would read the book to Laurie as their parents and Alice went around. Willow was excited to finally see more than those two shops.

Once in the streets, they dropped Laurie and her favourite book off with Florean, gave him two Sickles for Laurie's favourite ice cream, and asked him to keep an eye on her. Willow dug her list out. "I need my school uniform, the books, a wand, a cauldron, a set of glass or maybe crystal phials, a telescope, a set of brass scales, and Mum, can I have a pet?"

"We'll see."

Willow sulked. "That means no. Alice got a pet. Alice got Arabella." Arabella was a short-eared owl that belongs to Alice.

"No, we'll see means we'll see."

Alice shrugged. "You can send your letters with mine anyway."

Willow gave up on explaining they she didn't want an owl and instead asked "So where do we go first?"

"Uniforms. Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Your father will get the money from Gringotts, won't you, dear?"

"Of course, but you have the key."

Willow's mother rifled through her pockets. "Here it is. You go get some money, dearest, and be quick. We'll be at Madame Malkin's."

Her father strolled down the street. Willow, Alice, and their mother ducked through the doorway of Madame Malkin's.

Her mother looked at the acceptance letter. "There we go, three work robes, a black pointy hat thing that all the Muggles think we wear, some dragon hide gloves, and a black winter cloak with silver fastenings. Go over to the counter and ask for fittings, please."

Willow did so and found herself on a footstool with a witch pinning up some long black robes that had been placed on her. She watched as on the other side of the shop, partially obscured by a rack of robes, two boys were set up for fittings.

"Hello," said one, a blond. "Hogwarts, too?"

Willow was about to answer but realised that he was speaking to the other boy, a dark-haired one with taped-up glasses. So they weren't together, then.

"Yes."

"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands. Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and then smuggle it in somehow. Have you got your own broom?"

"No."

"Play Quidditch at all?"

"No."

Willow wondered if the boy would ever say more than "yes" and "no". While the blond was disagreeable, at least he could speak in full sentences.

"I do, Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house and I must say I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"

"No."

"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been – imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

Willow, who actually wanted to be in Hufflepuff as they mostly weren't noticed but got reasonable amounts of points and did moderately well in the Quidditch Cup, now wanted to slap the blond.

"Mmm," said the other. Willow wondered if he also wanted to be in Hufflepuff or if he just didn't have anything to say.

"I say, look at that man!" Willow couldn't see where the boy was looking through the robes.

"That's Hagrid. He works at Hogwarts," said the other boy, finally saying something more than yes, no and various sounds.

"Oh, I've heard of him. He's sort of a servant, isn't he?"

"He's the gamekeeper."

"Yes, exactly. I hear he's a sort of savage – lives on a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."

The witch finished pinning up Willow's robes and slipped her into an overly long coat before beginning to alter the robes with magic.

"I think he's brilliant." Willow silently cheered for the black-haired boy.

"Do you? Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"

The witch started pinning up the coat.

"They're dead."

Willow wanted to say something consoling but decided instead to keep quiet.

"Oh, sorry." He didn't sound very sorry. "But they were _our_ kind, weren't they?"

"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."

"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?"

Before he could say anything else, Madame Malkin announced that the black-haired boy was finished and he left the shop. The witch working on Willow's robes began to alter the coat.

"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose."

The witch started putting Willow's hands into various gloves. She found one that fit moderately well and shrunk it a little as the boy finished his robes and left the shop. The witch last of all took a black hat and put it on Willow's head, casting a spell that made it shrink like the gloves. "You're done, honey." Willow hopped down. "Have a nice day."

"You too." Willow went back to her mother, her arms full of robes.

"You're finished? Good, we'll just..." Her mother took the robes.

"No, I want to carry them!"

Madame Malkin smiled at Willow and gave her a little bag to put the robes in. Willow was dubious but found that they fit quite well and put them all in.

"Where to next?"

"Flourish and Blotts. Your father went back to Laurie."

Alice looked at her list. "Can we hurry up? I want to meet up with my friends."

Off they went.

At Flourish and Blotts, they bought the _Standard Book of Spells_ for first years, _A History of Magic_, _Magical Theory_, _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, Magical Drafts and Potions, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,_ and _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, _all for Willow, as Alice selected her mother also bought Willow a large gold leather journal, saying that if she didn't write like a diary she could use it for letters and not waste parchment. Alice got the same journal in red and gold. They went next door for the parchment, some black ink, and a dozen quill pens; Willow also coerced her mother into buying a bottle of colour-change ink. Alice used her pocket change to get colour-change and sparkly gold. At the Apothecary, which smelled something awful but was fascinating, her mother bought Willow a basic set of potion ingredients that came in a little wooden carrying case, and at a wizarding gear shop the got the cauldron, phials, telescope and scales. The also met up with her father.

"Would you like an pet, dear?" her mother asked. Willow nodded vigorously.

They went down to Eeylop's Owl Emporium, where the owner smiled at Willow. "Welcome back," he said.

Willow grinned sheepishly at her parents, who raised their eyebrows. "I really wanted an pet."

He whistled, and a fluffy, longhaired, cream-coloured cat jumped onto the table. "She knows you already," he said as the cat curled her tail around Willow's hand. "Thought of a name?"

"Annie," said Willow, stopping her father before he could pull out his money purse. "I've got money-I've been saving-" she said, pulling out nine Galleons and dozens of Sickles and Knuts to make the twelve galleons for Annie. She didn't want her parents to be able to threaten to take Annie away.

"All we have left is a wand!" Willow chirped as they headed to the street, Annie nestled snugly in her arms and Alice off to find her friends. They walked past Gringotts to Ollivanders. Inside, Mr. Ollivander was sitting in a spindly chair.

"Good afternoon," he said with a slightly scary smile.

"Hullo, Mr. Ollivander," replied Willow. She had met him several times before.

"Goodness, is it time for you to get a wand already?" he murmured. "Well, hold out your arms and spread your legs apart, there you go. Now just stand right there...yes. Which is your wand arm?"

"Left."

"Good, good." As a tape measure zoomed in and began to measure Willow in every possible place, Mr. Ollivander spoke to her parents. "And good afternoon to you too, Mr. and Mrs. Carroll. How is Laurie?"

"Well, thank you."

"Alice?"

"Oh, she's doing lovely."

"And how are your wands?"

"Excellent condition."

"Yes, yes..." Mr. Ollivander looked at her father. "Holly, ten and a quarter inches with phoenix feather, very rigid. And you..." He shifted his gaze to Willow's mother. "You were a willow wand, like your daughter's name, and it was eight inches even, with unicorn hair?"

"Yes, sir."

"And Alice was beechwood with unicorn hair, nine and a half inches?"

"Yes."

"Hmm, very good. Well, that's enough." The tape measure snapped up. "Let's try some wands, shall we? Here. Beechwood and phoenix feather. It's bendy, and ten and a half inches." Willow hadn't even taken it before Mr. Ollivander snatched it away. "No, not quite right. Try this one, it might suit you better. Laurel and dragon heartstring, pliable, thirteen inches. No, wait...here. Ebony and dragon heartstring, eleven and three-quarters inches, supple, that might do the trick." Willow actually got a chance to wave that one. It shot gold sparks. "There we go, there we go!" Mr. Ollivander began wrapping up the wand. "That was quite simple. You're very easy to read, my dear."

Willow paid her seven Galleons, took the box from his hand and slipped it into the bags she carried from her other purchases. "Thank you very much, sir."

"You're welcome, dear, and I'll imagine it will seem like tomorrow when Laurel comes on in and chooses her wand!"

Back at Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlour, Laurie was sticky with melted ice cream and was looking at the pictures in her book. A crayon drawing was beside her. "Wook, Mummy, wook," she chirped. "I drawed a birdy." At first glance the scribbles looked nothing like a bird, but after Willow picked it up she noticed what Laurie had tried. "An' Mister Forta-scoo towd me awl about the wizards in history. It's reaw int'restin." Willow smiled. It seemed like her baby sister might be in Ravenclaw one day; of course, this couldn't be found out immediately. She reached out and tugged one of Laurel's little brown curls.

"Now, Laurie, you've been good?"

"Yeah, Mister Forta-scoo says I'm the bestest!"

"She's a dear," confirmed Florean.

They all left Diagon Alley, minus Alice, who was shopping with her Hogwarts friends, and got back on the bus.

"Now, here's your train ticket. It was right there in the envelope; I don't want you losing it. It's August 20th now?"

"Yes."

He hugged her. "You grew up so fast, Willow-bean."

Willow smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

On September 1, at 8:30, the family arrived at King's Cross station. Laurie was crying, Annie was talking with Victory, Thomas, and Andrew (her friends), and Willow was dragging a trolley full of trunks, books and other things, with Annie curled proudly on top.

"Now, we'll be right behind you, but go through first," her mother encouraged. Willow nodded and ran straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. A few seconds later, her parents, each holding one of Laurie's hands, stepped through as well, followed by Alice, Victory, Thomas, and Andrew.

"It's still a half hour until the train leaves, but you'd be best to get on now, it'll be a good seat. Sit on this side so we can see you off," her mother said to her.

Willow grinned and boarded the train with the help of an older Hufflepuff boy with dark brown hair. She dragged her trunk down the hall slowly, carrying Annie in the other arm, finally arriving at an empty compartment about a quarter of a way down the train. It was, she knew, useless to try and sit with Alice. She sat down with a thump and rested for a second before standing up again, picking up her trunk, climbing on top of the seat and shoving her trunk into the overhead compartment. She sat back down again, Annie in her lap, and looked out the window at her family. She waved. They waved back.

About ten minutes later, a girl and boy, both with black hair, opened the compartment door. "Do you mind if we sit here? No one else is here, are they?" asked the girl.

Willow gestured to the empty seats. "Go right ahead." They nodded and pushed their trunks into the overhead compartments before sitting down. "So who are you two?"

"Alexandra and Campbell Wolfgang. You?"

"Willow Carroll."

"Got any siblings, Willow?"

"One baby sister and one older-she's a fourth year."

"We're twins."

"First years?"

"Yeah. You?"

"The same."

"Is that your cat? She's so cute!"

They made small talk for a while about what Houses they thought they would be sorted in and what they had done to prepare for Hogwarts. About two minutes before the train was set to leave, a pair of redheaded boys popped into their compartment.

"Harry Potter's here," one of them said.

"_The_ Harry Potter? The boy who lived?" asked Alexandra.

"No, Harry Potter the penguin. Yes, that Harry Potter! He's in a compartment near the back." They left.

"Can you believe it?" Campbell asked excitedly. "Can you believe it? Harry Potter! In the same year as us! Going to get Sorted like us! Can you believe it?"

"We believed it the first two times you told us, Campbell."

"Ah. Well, it's still cool."

The train started up. Willow sprang out of her seat and went to the window, opening it. She stuck her head out. "Mum! Dad! Laurie! I'll miss you!" she yelled. "I love you!"

Pulling her head back in, she looked at Alexandra and Campbell. "Are your parents here?"

"We're Muggle-born. It's a little strange to have twins born to Muggles both be magic, but it's happened before. Our parents work from eight to four at the same accountant's firm, so they dropped us off here an hour ago. We've mostly been hanging out at the station."

A few minutes later the snack trolley came by. Willow went out with five Sickles and paid for several Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes and three Chocolate Frogs. Coming back in, she gave Alexandra and Campbell one of each. "There you go!"

"Thank you. We had to buy our books with the school's money, that's the way it goes for Muggle-borns. How about you?"

"My parents are both magic, but they're both half-bloods. I don't know what that makes me."

"Hmm...half-blood, I'd think," said Alexandra through a mouth of chocolate frog.

"What card did you get?" asked Campbell, biting into a Pumpkin Pasty.

"Circe. How about you two?"

"Haven't opened mine yet," said Willow.

"Me neither," said Campbell.

"Well, open them!"

Willow swallowed her Cauldron Cake and Campbell put down his Pumpkin Pasty. The two opened their frogs, which they quickly ate before they jumped away.

"Morgana le Fay," said Willow.

"I've got Hengist of Woodcroft."

"Neat," said Alexandria.

Willow inspected the Hengist of Woodcroft card. "I've already got Morgana. Trade you?"

"Sure," Campbell said. They made the swap.

The rest of the ride passed pleasantly enough, the three new students chatting the whole way. They were interrupted twice for the same thing, a lost toad – once by the owner of the toad, a round-faced boy who introduced himself as Neville, and a bushy-haired brunette who didn't give a name and left very quickly.

After a few hours, a voice was heard. "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school separately." Alexandra, Willow and Campbell were throwing on their robes when the train slowed and stopped. They, along with everyone else, climbed out the door and onto a tiny dark platform. As Willow was looking for Alice, alantern came through them. "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right over there, Harry?"

"Do you suppose he means Harry Potter?" asked Alexandra in an undertone.

"No, he means Harry the penguin. Yes, I think he must mean Harry Potter, don't you?"

"I was just asking..."

The lantern started going in the other direction. "C'mon, follow me – any more firs' years?" The three hurried along and joined the rest of the first years as the other students trooped the opposite direction. "Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

They followed the man and lantern down a slippery path. "That's Hagrid, the gamekeeper," Willow whispered to the other two. The path was surrounded by trees.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec, jus' round this bend here."

Everyone oohed and ahhed as they reached the end of the path. It opened onto a huge black lake. On top of a mountain on the other side was Hogwarts Castle.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called as he gestured toward a small fleet of boats in the water. Willow, Alexandra and Campbell climbed into a boat with a blonde, pigtailed girl who introduced herself as Hannah Abbot. "Everyone in? Right then – FORWARD!"

The little fleet set off all at the same time, going across the smooth lake. Everyone was absolutely silent, in awe of the towering castle. At one point, Willow looked down only to see a large white figure move across the blackness of the lake. She shook her head and looked again. A long tentacle was waving just beside the boat. Scared, Willow moved to the centre. "Heads down!" Hagrid yelled as they reached the cliff. They followed suit and the boats passed through a curtain of ivy that hid an opening in the cliff. Willow shivered as an insect clung to her brown pigtails. They followed along into a dark harbour and stepped out of the boats onto the rocky ground.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" asked Hagrid.

"Trevor!" yelled Neville, holding out his hands for Trevor to jump into.

They walked up some stone steps. Hagrid did a head count, then knocked on the door.

**A/N: Before anyone complains that this is an OC-centric fic, don't. I warned you. In the description, no less. So don't even think about it, as your arguments are worthless since I warned you. If you try to flame me or anything I will ignore it.**

**Finally, if you DO enjoy my story, thank you. You knew what you were actually reading, which is "what happened while Harry, Ron and Hermione were beating up a troll/fighting for the Sorcerer's Stone/with Hagrid playing with Norbert/unconscious in the hospital/anything else if I chose to move on to other books." This is NOT "what would happen if". This is "what probably happened, but no one can be sure so this is a take on it." Okay. Now I'm done. Thank you if you actually read through all this. **


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

The door swung open to reveal a tall witch in green robes with black hair.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

She pulled the door open and let in the students. In front of them was a large marble staircase; to the right was a grand door, and to the left, partially obscured by the staircase, was a much smaller door. They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagstones. Willow heard voices from the other side of the door, but Professor McGonagall showed them into a little room under the staircase. They crowded in and Willow breathed a sigh of relief. She hated open spaces – small areas were much better for her.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. She told the group assembled all about house points and how your house, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin would be like their family. She finished with, "The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the school. I suggest you smarten yourselves up as much as you can while waiting."

"Got a hairbrush?" Willow asked Alexandra in an undertone. She nodded and passed Willow a small silver brush. Willow promptly undid her pigtails and began to smooth and straighten her hair.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall on the way out. "Please wait quietly."

Willow finished her hair, did it back up, and brushed out Alexandra's, listening to the many theories about Sorting. "They're wrong. Alice-that's my sister-told me about it. You just put on a hat, is all. And it tells you what house you are." She tied up Alexandra's long black hair into a pseudoponytail with a quill she had on her. "There, that should keep it steady for a while." While she was trying to brush Campbell's hair with little success, several people screamed as twenty ghosts came in through the wall. A fat little monk was saying "Forgive and forget, we ought to give him a second chance."

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves?" asked a ghost wearing a ruff and tights. "He gives us a bad name and he isn't even a ghost – I say," he said, noticing them, "what are you all doing here?"

No-one answered.

"New students!" said the Fat Friar with a smile. "About to be Sorted? Hope to see you in Hufflepuff! My old house, you know."

"Move along," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony is about to begin." Professor McGonagall had returned. "Form a queue and follow me." They did such and marched into the Great Hall.

The Hall was lit by thousands of floating candles just below a ceiling that looked exactly like the night sky. Willow heard the bushy-haired girl say that it was bewitched to reflect the outside sky. Willow could believe that. She looked down again as Professor McGonagall placed a four-legged stool and dirty hat in front of them. The hat twitched, opened a gash in its brow, and began to sing.

_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!_

Everyone applauded as the hat finished its song and McGonagall stepped forward with a scroll. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said.

Willow settled back on her heels and craned her neck until she found Alice at the Gryffindor table. Alice didn't even look over at her once; after a while, Willow just gave up and watched the Sorting. Hannah from the boat was Sorted into Hufflepuff; she was the only one before Willow herself was Sorted that Willow was interested in the fate of.

"Carroll, Willow!"

Willow stepped up the stool and put on the hat. Before it slipped over her eyes, she finally saw Alice look her way.

"Hm, yes," it whispered in her ear. "You're not that hard to read, dear. Very loyal and steadfast, you've got a lot of friends and help anyone you can...you are kind and caring, and you don't much like open spaces...HUFFLEPUFF!" It shouted the last bit to the hall at large. Willow jogged over to sit by Hannah, not daring to look in Alice's direction.

The bushy-haired girl Hermione Granger was put in Gryffindor; Neville, the toad boy, was also a Gryffindor, as was Harry Potter himself. A boy named Ron Weasley who had been with Harry on the train was sorted into Gryffindor. Finally was called "Wolfgang, Alexandria" and "Wolfgang, Campbell" in turn sorted into Hufflepuff. They came over to Willow and she high-fived them both.

"Welcome!" said the headmaster Albus Dumbledore. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" He sat back down. The gold plates covering the tables filled with food of all kinds. Grinning, Willow loaded her plate with lamb chops and roast potatoes covered in gravy. She also chose a peppermint humbug, to see how it tasted.

Throughout dinner, and later dessert of chocolate éclair and ice cream, Willow talked to both Alexandria and the ghost the Fat Friar. The Hufflepuff prefect from the train station congratulated her personally, and everyone at the table was constantly making noise and merry in general. Finally, dinner and dessert were over, Dumbledore had given a start-of-year speech (which for some odd reason included the instruction to stay out of the third-floor corridor on the right hand side unless you wanted to die), and the prefect motioned to follow. "Hufflepuffs! First year Huffleing and Pufflings follow me!"

They followed him out of the hall, past the staircase and to the little door on the other side. The Gryffindors (including Alice) and Ravenclaws ascended the staircase; Slytherin marched toward the dungeon. The prefect opened the door and led them down a flight of stairs. They passed a still life of a bowl of fruit (it was impressive – the pear especially looked very realistic) and stopped at a large stack of barrels. The prefect turned around.

"Congratulations! I'm Prefect Gabriel Truman and I'm delighted to welcome you to Hufflepuff House. Now if you'll just listen to my little spiel, we'll get along swimmingly." Some people laughed. "Where to start? Our emblem is the badger, an animal that is often underestimated because it lives quietly until attacked, but which, when provoked, can fight off animals much larger than itself, such as wolves. Our house colours are yellow and black and our common room is here, which is near the kitchen and below ground. Now for some things you should know. First of all, let's deal with the common myth that Hufflepuff is the least clever house. This is wrong. We are the least boastful house but we've produced just as many brilliant witches and wizards. Some of the most popular Ministers of Magic came from here, along with the witch who discovered the magical abilities of the number seven, Bridget Wenlock, and the founder of Hogsmeade, Hengist of Woodcroft. As you can see, we've produced more than our fair share of powerful, brilliant and daring witches and wizards but just because we don't shout about it we don't get the credit we deserve. Ravenclaws especially assume any outstanding achiever must come from their house. I got in big trouble during my third year for dueling a Ravenclaw who insisted Bridget Wenlock had been a Ravenclaw and not a Hufflepuff. I should've gotten detentions, but instead I got a box of coconut ice from Professor Sprout. We are lacking in one area, though. We've produced the fewest Dark wizards out of all the houses in this school. Slytherin produces the most, of course, but even Gryffindor has created a few dodgy characters. Now, here we have the entrance."

Gabriel took out his wand and counted barrels until he found the barrel two from the bottom in the middle of the second row. He tapped it to a rhythm and it swung open to reveal a passageway. "That was the rhythm of the words 'Helga Hufflepuff'. We never change this but in more than a thousand years no outsider has seen our common rooms, making this the most secure. I'd advise you to remember the correct barrel. If you tap the wrong one, or the rhythm is wrong, you get covered in vinegar." They crawled through the passageway, which Willow had expected to be damp but instead was warm, dry and earthy, eventually going through a circular door on the other side.

Willow found herself in a small, circular room lit by copper lamps that looked like a badgers set. That made sense, at least. Everything was very green – plants lined the walls on curved shelves. Overstuffed yellow and black armchairs were all around the room, facing either the fireplace or another chair. Above the fireplace was a portrait of a smiling Helga Hufflepuff. Two more circular doors were on either side. Up at the very ceiling were several circular windows showing grass and dandelions – they were in the basement. All the wood for the doors and furniture was honey-coloured and highly polished. Gabriel pointed to the door on the left. "That leads to the boy's dormitories." He pointed to the right. "And that's the girls. Good-night." He exited through the boy's dormitory door.

In the common room was an assortment of students from other years playing chess, sitting in front of the fireplace, talking, studying and eating soft gold apples from a little tortoiseshell-patterned bowl. Willow thought about joining them but decided against it. It was very late, and they'd all had an exciting day. She joined Alexandria, Hannah Abbot and two girls named Susan Bones and Lydia Moon. Campbell went off to join a Justin Finch-Fletchy, an Ernie MacMillan and a Kendall Kanelle.

Through the round door was a little round chamber with seven more doors. They were labeled with the year numbers. Willow entered the door labeled YEAR 1 with the other girls.

Inside was yet another circular room with five honey-polished-wood beds covered in patchwork quilts. Annie was already waiting on one for Willow. Next to each bed was a night table, and above that was a copper bedwarmer. On the night tables were more copper lamps. At the foot of each bed was a trunk. Willow opened hers, pulled out a pair of yellow pyjamas, and dove under the covers to change. She then got back up and snuggled under the thick blankets, Annie purring beside her, lifting her pillow to find a small, sweet-smelling sachet. When all the girls were in bed, the lights went out. Willow slept easy until morning.

And she didn't miss Alice one-little-bit.

**A/N: Parts of this are directly from the first Harry Potter book like in the last chapter, because those are all-school events that anyone would've taken part in. So there's that. The descriptions of the Hufflepuff common room are taken from Pottermore, as are Gabriel Truman and his speech. Those aren't mine. The description is canon, because J.K. Rowling wrote it and I just paraphrased.**


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

**A/N: Here we have another parody of My Immortal by Tara Gilesbie. It's my idea of how My Immortal came to be. Ebony will be a recurring character in this fic. Hufflepuff is the kindest house, according to Pottermore, and it just seems like something that the people in the house would do, Willow included.**

**Brownie points to anyone who understands where the Willow-Alice dynamic came from. Double super extra brownie points to anyone who can name the exact inspiration (which is a fanfic, to give a hint).**

The next morning, Alexandria, Willow and Campbell were walking up to breakfast when Willow fell down a flight of stairs.

Campbell and Willow had been arguing about classes when he gave her a little push that was harder than he thought and boom, down she went. A fifth year girl heard the commotion and ran out.

"What's going on? Oh! Are you okay?"

Willow groaned and sat up. "My ankle hurts."

Campbell and Alexandria raced down the stairs. "Gosh, Willow, I'm sorry," said Campbell anxiously. "I didn't mean to."

"It's alright."

"Can you move your foot?" asked the fifth year.

Willow tried. "A little bit."

"It's probably just a sprain. We'll take you to Madam Pomfrey, she'll fix you right up and we'll get back down for breakfast," said the girl reassuringly. "Here, I'll help you."

The girl helped Willow up and led her up the stairs and up the larger staircase, down a hall to the hospital wing. They went in and Willow sat down on one of the beds. "Madam Pomfrey?" the girl called. "Madam Pomfrey, we need you."

Poppy Pomfrey came out of her office. "Dear, dear, what happened?"

Willow shrugged. "Fell down some stairs. Sprained my ankle."

"Well, that's easily fixed. Just a moment, I need to deal with Ebony here."

"Ebony?" Willow then noticed the Slytherin girl with short, spiky, awkwardly cut black hair laying on the bed across from her and staring at the ceiling.

"This is Ebony Way. Last year she took a near fatal jump off the Astronomy Tower that damaged her head permanently and she spent the summer in St. Mungo's. We have her here now, to make sure if she gets any better she'll be able to go straight back to life."

"So what's happening to her?"

"She's holding up a detailed alternate reality in her head. We're not quite sure what it is, but occasionally she moves or talks. From that we get a vague idea that she's in a type of wish-fulfillment Hogwarts exactly the way she wants it to be."

"Oh. That's...well, that's that."

Madam Pomfrey walked over to Ebony. "Dear, are you alright today?" she asked. "Are you going to wake up yet?"

"How does she eat?"

"We transport the food straight into her stomach."

Willow cringed.

"Well now, let's see that ankle. Mm, tut-tut. That's a bad sprain." Madam Pomfrey healed Willow's ankle with a simple spell. "It might be a little sore, now. Do you know how to get back to the Great Hall?"

"A little."

"Well, it's not that hard. Just go straight down the grand staircase and avoid all the others, you haven't learned the tricks yet."

"Okay. Thank you."

"Anytime, dear."

Willow left the hospital wing and went down for breakfast, where a very guilty-looking Campbell was sitting with Alexandria. "Hey, Willow. I saved you a seat," he said.

"Don't be so sad, Campbell. You didn't mean to do it."

"Yeah, but..."

"Look, Madam Pomfrey fixed my ankle. I'm okay now. You don't need to feel guilty. So what's for breakfast?"

After breakfast, the three looked at their schedules. "Transfiguration first," said Willow.

They headed along the corridor until they were thoroughly lost.

"Why don't they give maps?" Hannah complained.

"To build character," one of the Ravenclaws said.

"I guess that getting lost in the castle and having to eat each other to survive is character," Campbell muttered.

Another Ravenclaw grinned. "Hufflepuffs get eaten first. Say, who brought the cat?"

A beautiful tabby cat was sitting proudly in front of them.

"I think it's this way."

"The cat bit me!" Campbell howled. The cat was indeed biting him...and pulling him one direction.

"Think that's the way?"

"It'll prevent the cat from eating us."

They followed the cat until they entered the Transfiguration classroom. "Whaddaya know?" Willow asked.

The cat turned into Professor McGonagall.

"Good morning, class. Transfiguration is some of the most difficult and dangerous magic you will learn here. If you are caught messing around you will leave. Any questions?" She then turned her desk into a pig and back. Everyone was anxious to get started, but it turned out that all they were doing that day was changing a match into a needle. By the end of the lesson no one had made a difference to their match. Professor McGonagall showed them a match belonging to a girl from another class, Hermione Granger, that had gone silver and pointy. Willow made a mental note to track down Hermione Granger and ask her about how to do that.

Lessons in general were very difficult. There was History of Magic, which Willow had been excited for but all it turned out to be was a ghost, Professor Binns, lecturing on goblin wars. They went up to the roof with their telescopes every Wednesday to study astronomy with Professor Sinistra, and a few times a week was Willow's favorite class of Herbology, but the class was dangerous; Willow had ventured too close to a Venomous Tentacula and it had eaten a chunk of her hair, and the Devil's Snare had nearly ripped Campbell's arm from his socket. In Charms, they learned to levitate a feather; Willow's only rolled over on the desk, but Alexandria managed to get hers to jump and Campbell hovered his about two inches in the air for half a minute. And Defense against the Dark Arts, which sounded very interesting, turned out to be exceedingly boring; all that their Professor Quirrell did was stutter on about things while the students were asphyxiated by the smell of garlic, which Willow had heard was to ward off a vampire from Romania, and give tests on subjects they hadn't heard him talk about. Potions was even worse; while Willow managed to whip up a decent cure for boils the first day, Snape hadn't been very nice, and he docked ten points from Hufflepuff on account of Justin Finch-Fletchy and Ernie MacMillan accidentally spilling a volatile green mixture on themselves that made Justin's black hair turn white and Ernie's blond hair turn green.

The whole time, Willow saw Alice maybe twice, both when she was with her friends.

Twice a week they had flying lessons with Madam Hooch. Their first lesson was on Tuesday and while Willow managed to get off the ground, she knew from the first second that she would never really like Quidditch (even though Alice wanted to be on her House team) or being up in the air; she much preferred to be solidly on the ground or underground, even better, in the Hufflepuff basement. Willow had never liked outdoor, open areas; she liked them even less when she didn't have the ground to anchor her to life. And she was glad when they were finally back in the castle, where everything was solid and most things didn't gratuitously fly.

From four-thirty onward every day was a time called "study/social" on her schedule. Most days during that time, she did her homework immediately and then either stayed in the common room to play wizard chess or chat with Alexandria and Campbell or she took a walk to Hagrid's hut. It wasn't so bad there; the path was surrounded by people most days, and the hut was just in front of the Forbidden Forest, giving it a nice cosy atmosphere, although she never went in. Around Halloween, he began growing large pumpkins to carve. Willow suspected magical involvement. She'd also heard a rumor that Harry Potter was incredible at Quidditch – he'd already been made Seeker of the Gryffindor team when most students couldn't even try out until second year.

On Halloween morning, the smell of pumpkin was entirely through the castle; the Hufflepuffs especially could sense it, since their common room was directly next to the kitchens. In addition, during Charms with the Gryffindors, Hermione Granger made a quill fly around the room, having mastered the spell _Wingardium Leviosa_.

On the night itself, live bats fluttered to and fro around the Great Hall; the dinner appeared in the same manner as the Great Feast and everyone was generally having a good time when Professor Quirrell ran in. "TROLL!" he gasped out. "Troll – in the dungeons." He quavered on the spot. "Thought you ought to know," he muttered as he sank to the ground in a dead faint.

Dumbledore could only quiet the hall with purple firecrackers. "Prefects, lead your houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

Gabriel Truman put a hand on the shoulders of Alexandria and Willow. "Up, now, follow the crowd until you reach the entrance hall and head back to the dorm," he said. They followed his instructions and just barely noticed Harry Potter and Ron Weasley turning the other way as they went down. Willow shook her head – it was probably nothing. They must've wanted to find a friend.

"Why was Quirrell down there anyway?" she asked Alexandria and Campbell. "The Feast is up here. There's no conceivable way this was an accident."

"What are you, a conspiracy theorist? No way did a teacher let a troll in the castle."

By the time they were back in the dorm and the food was being sent around, so was a rumor. Everyone was saying that Harry Potter and Ron Weasley had fought the troll. Willow didn't quite believe this; however, she decided that since Harry Potter had defeated Lord Voldemort at the age of one, she wouldn't doubt anything. She didn't think, though, that Ron Weasley (such red hair, and all those freckles!) had anything to do with it. She had freckles herself, but she found that if one knew how to get into the kitchen (Gabriel Truman had let it slip in early October that you just tickled the pear on the still life) the kitchen house-elves were more than willing to give you lemon juice and water for fading freckles. Muggle remedies sometimes worked better than magic, since magic could be awfully unpredictable.

Ending on Halloween night, Willow sank back into the bed and sighed, staring at the close-set ceiling and the plant hangers. Everything about Hogwarts – well, everything but the flying lessons, and possibly missing Alice – seemed especially nice.

She still wished she could meet Harry Potter, though.


End file.
